Bulls are showing positive signs, but what exactly is their plan?

Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine has been playing good ball this season. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

After years of depressed sighs, and unheard calls from a fan base yearning for ingenuity, the Chicago Bulls have — surprisingly — answered the call to step into the 21st century and embraced the 3-point shot.

The organization, helmed by head coach Billy Donovan in his fifth season with the franchise, has long been conservative in its approach to how basketball should be played, just as it’s historically remained behind the curve when it comes to roster construction.

As for now, the Bulls have seemingly fixed one out of two issues, and for the Bulls, that’s a leap of significant magnitude considering their reluctance in learning new tricks.

Donovan, for his part, has tasked his troops with the responsibility of firing away from the outside, while consistently running the floor, with Chicago now leading the league in pace after ranking 28th last season.

For fans, it’s a refreshing change from the perspective of entertainment. Who doesn’t love fast-paced offense that includes a ton of 3s?

Zach LaVine, who has spent the last year listening to talking heads proclaim he’s nothing but a bad contract, has embraced an off-ball role and is reminding teams that he is, indeed, still very capable of giving anyone 25 whenever he wants.

The 29-year-old has completely bought into the new schemes, averaging 22.7 points on 49.5/45.8/81.5 shooting splits. Partly because this was always the system he was destined to flourish in, and it could also potentially buy him an exit strategy.

(Don’t worry. We’ll get there.)

It’s refreshing to see a former All-Star regain control of his own narrative, particularly after an injury-riddled year when he was limited to just 25 games.

Of course, it’s not just LaVine. Coby White is taking 9.3 triples per game and four other Bulls are taking more than four.

Even Josh Giddey, a notorious non-shooter, is currently hitting 47.6% of his 3s. While that level of efficiency is certainly not sustainable, it’s a step in the right direction for a player Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault couldn’t justify keeping on…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/bulls-are-showing-positive-signs-but-what-exactly-is-their-plan-184539049.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-11-04 18:45:00

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